Monday, June 1, 2009

Whats the point?


To make available to the public the notebook of John Heald, maker of brass band instruments in Springfield Mass. from 1882-1920. Heald, born July 3rd, 1843 at Atkinson NH. Although now virtually unknown, in his day was a renowned maker of brass instruments particularly the cornet.
Healds notebook is not only about his work, it contains news clipings and pictures of what interested him, many of which I know not the significance of, they were important to him which is sufficient reason to include them. I hope they will help other interested parties connect the dots of his life.
Posted by at 9:41 AM

5 comments:

  1. Hi Chris, just heard about your blog via Denise Pinardi (widow of Dave). I've run www.vintagecornets.com for over 10 years, and www.pocketcornets.com for about three. We just had our 9th Cornet Conspiracy meeting in Concord, MA this past May, and I did a short lecture on Heald, his patents, and cornets. It appears the gold plated short model you have was the subject of a detailed illustration from the 1903 catalog, which we used for this year's teeshirt design (in honor of Dave Pinardi, who was as ardent a fan of the Heald cornet as there ever was). Hope to see more on this site as time goes by. I'm a graphic designer but do my own restoration work and play jazz professionally. Feel free to reach me at: nick@decadesign.com Regards, Nick DeCarlis, Gainesville, FL

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  2. Hi Chris,

    Look forward to seeing more here about Heald, and I'd love to see more pictures of the engraved cornet! I've worked on a number of Healds, and both the workmanship and playing qualities are outstanding. Best, Mark Metzler, www.metzlerbrassrepair.com

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  3. Hi Chris,

    I am also interested in more information about the engraved Heald. Until a few months ago, I had never seen the fully engraved version of the Heald before. However, now I own one. The one in your picture actually has slightly more engraving than mine. The engraving on mine doesn't go all the way around the shephards crook portion of the bell, and I don't have any engraving on the valve casings.

    A beautiful cornet!!

    Steve Ward

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  4. Thanks for making this site available. It looks like it is going to be a valuable service for collectors, historians and those of us in the restoration business.

    Rich Ita

    www.brassinstrumentworkshop.com

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  5. Me too!
    Robb Stewart
    oldbrass@altrionet.com

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